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IUSM faculty members recently honored for their achievements

July 17, 2014

Malaz A. Boustani, M.D., has been named the second holder of the Richard M. Fairbanks Chair in Aging Research. His new faculty title is the Richard M. Fairbanks Professor of Aging Research. Dr. Boustani will retain his current titles of professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine and adjunct professor at the School of Public Health.

Dr. Boustani is the chief operating officer of the Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science, which oversee four specialized research and discovery units focused on reducing costs and improving care at Indiana University Health, Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health, Eskenazi Health and the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, and director of the Healthy Aging Brain Center at Eskenazi Health, which provides an innovative model of dementia at 10 community health centers throughout Indianapolis.

He is also director of the Aging Brain Program at the IU Center for Aging Research, founding director of the Indianapolis Discovery Network for Dementia and an investigator at the Regenstrief Institute.

The Richard M. Fairbanks Chair in Aging Research was established in 1998 by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, Inc. It is the intent of the donor that the holder of this chair will be a faculty member of the IU School of Medicine primarily engaged in health services or behavioral research on the aging process or on the diseases or other special problems and needs of older people and be part of the core faculty of the IU Center for Aging Research. Dr. Boustani's appointment was effective July 1.

Flora Hammond, M.D., chair and Covalt Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the IU School of Medicine and chief of medical affairs at the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana, was named the recipient of the 2013 Mitch Rosenthal, Ph.D., Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Best Paper Award at Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Project Directors meeting in Washington on June 26.

The paper was published in the October 2013 issue of the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The award is named in honor of Mitchell Rosenthal, Ph.D., who passed away in 2007 and played a significant role as a researcher, curator for the TBI Model Systems National Data Base and program administrator in the TBI Model Systems program.

In 2013, the IU School of Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana were named a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Model System site, one of only 16 centers in the United States. The five-year $2,137,500 federal grant adds local researchers and physicians to the leading national network of centers studying and treating traumatic brain injury and its impact on the lives of patients and their families.

Dr. Hammond serves as co-director of the TBI Model System at the IU School of Medicine and Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana. James F. Malec, Ph.D., professor and director of research in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and professor of neurology at the IU School of Medicine, is co-director.

Daniel Rusyniak, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine, has been award the American College of Medical Toxicology's 2014 Outstanding Contribution to Medical Toxicology.

Dr. Rusyniak's was recognized for his role in advancing the scientific understanding of methamphetamines, including developing new techniques to detect methamphetamines and contributions to the understanding of the mechanism by which amphetamines cause life-threatening hyperthermia.

His research has been recognized by a Mentored Clinical Scientists Development Award (K08) and Research Project Grant Program (R01) award from National Institutes of Health, making him one of only a handful medical toxicologists with NIH funding, according to the ACMT.

Dr. Rusyniak also serves as the vice chair of faculty development in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the IU School of Medicine.

Kenneth E. White, Ph.D., has been named the first holder of the David D. Weaver Professorship in Genetics. Dr. White's new faculty title is the David D. Weaver Professor of Genetics. He will retain his current title of professor of medical and molecular genetics at the IU School of Medicine.

Dr. White's research interests focused on the molecular genetics of metabolic bone diseases. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research's 2007 Fuller Albright Award and 2001 Young Investigator Award and American Society for Bone and Mineral Research's 1999 John Haddad Fellowship.

In 2013, White was named an inaugural IU School of Medicine Showalter Scholar. He is a member also a member of the IU Simon Cancer Center and Indiana Center for Translational Musculoskeletal Research.

The David D. Weaver Professorship in Genetics was established in 2006 by various donors in honor of David D. Weaver, M.D., who retired from the School of Medicine faculty in 2005. It is the intent of the donors that the holder of the professorship will be a full-time faculty member in the IU School of Medicine Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics. Dr. White's appointment was effective July 1.

2014 Cancer Research Day winners

The IU Simon Cancer Center hosted its annual Cancer Research Day on May 29. The goal of the event is to increase understanding and awareness of IU Simon Cancer Center research endeavors and encourage collaboration with other cancer research institutions in Indiana. Overall, a record-breaking 141 abstracts were submitted in the various categories.

The following people earned cash awards and certificates:

• Basic Science (Medical & Graduate Student): Kelsey Weigel of Notre Dame, first place; Joshua Plotnik of IU, second place; Vivekananda Kedage Kedage and Jason Kwon, both of IU, third place; Raju Rayavarapu, Notre Dame and Cassandra Buchheit, both of Notre Dame, honorable mentions.

• Basic Science (Post-doc/Medical Fellow/Research Tech): Chi-Hong Chao of Purdue, first place; Han Wei of IU, second place; Lin Wang of IU, and Jeff Johnson of Notre Dame, honorable mentions.

• Behavioral Science (Graduate Student): Monica Kasting of IU, first place.

• Behavioral Science (Post-doc/Medical Fellow): Lisa Carter-Harris of IU, first place.

• Population Science/Epidemiology (Graduate student): Wambui Mwangi of IU, first place.

• Population Science/Epidemiology (Post-doc/Medical Fellow): Erin Wagner of IU, first place.

• Translational/Clinical Research (Medical & Graduate Student): Imade Imasuen of IU, first place.

• Translational/Clinical Research (Post-doc/Medical Fellow): Christopher Suarez of Notre Dame, first place; Yukiko Kitagawa of IU, second place; Fang Fang of IU, third place; Sunny Shah of Notre Dame and Neil Estabrook and Haiyan Wang, both of IU, honorable mentions.

• Translational/Clinical Research (Research Technician): Christy Mumaw of IU, first place.

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